Nintendo: Wii U design likely final

Like the Wii U's Apple white aesthetics? Nintendo has said the Wii U design it revealed at E3 will probably remain unchanged.

"In terms of the form factor of the console, it is quite near final," Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime told VentureBeat. "Similarly the form factor of the controller is quite near final."

The Wii U console's base unit looks like a chunkier version of the Wii, while the tablet-sized controller has a large touch screen. But it's nothing like an iPad, says Fils-Aime. "We were well in development before the birth of tablets, and again, to be clear, this is not a tablet."

"This was not conceptualised as an on-the-go piece of equipment," he qualified. The Wii U controller needs to be near the base console unit to stream content, meaning no on-board processor, which helps keep costs down.

Was any tech left out of Wii U to keep its price low? Fils-Aime's not telling. "What I would say is we have built an approach that we believe is going to satisfy the needs of all kinds of consumers that will allow for new experiences and yet still will be affordable and be consistent with the value philosophy of Nintendo," he said.

Fils-Aime also poured water on a dual platform release for upcoming Wii Zelda game Skyward Sword. Late GameCube Zelda game Twilight Princess found itself in a similar situation and ended up launching on Wii as well.

There's no chance of it this time around however, "Because Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was built to be played with a Wii controller," Fils-Aime reasoned.